Does Your Congressperson Smoke Marijuana ?

These charts were made from information contained in a newly released YouGov Poll. The survey was taken on March 14th and 15th of a random nationwide sample of 1,000 adults, and has a margin of error of 3.6 points.

Some of you may think this is a silly question to ask. Surely no member of Congress would break the law by using an illegal drug. Or would they? We know scandals are not a rare occurrence in Congress, as members are exposed all the time doing things most never thought they would do. And just recently a right-wing Republican had to resign his office because he was arrested in possession of cocaine.

If a right-winger is exposed using cocaine, how far-fetched is it that other members might partake of the far less dangerous (and more socially accepted) marijuana). Personally, I think more than a few members of Congress have smoked, and currently still smoke marijuana. We would probably all be shocked if we knew exactly how many members are marijuana smokers.

And it looks like a lot of Americans agree with me. Note in the charts above that a significant number of the poll's respondents believe members of Congress have used marijuana in the past, and a slightly smaller number believe many in Congress still use the gentle herb. Perhaps more important, nearly one in four believe their own representative smokes marijuana, and another 40% aren't sure.

But the reason I'm writing this post is because of the answers in the two bottom charts. About 53% say they would not be upset to learn their own representative smokes pot. And 50% say using marijuana would not prevent a person from being a good congressperson. This shows just how much attitudes have changed (and continue to change) regarding marijuana use. It is no longer considered to be the terrible thing it was once thought to be.